"Mike & Molly" star Billy Gardell said his dramatic weight loss journey not only changed his life but likely saved it.
In a Sept. 22 episode of the "Breaking Bread" podcast, the "Bob Hearts Abishola" actor, 57, opened up about the 2021 bariatric surgery that he said "probably saved my life." He shared that he developed Type 2 diabetes, as well as concerns about his "cholesterol" and "heart."
"You can't outrun those. I think the only reason I was able to survive as long as I did is one, I got decent genetics, and two was I played some sports when I was younger. So I was a big fat guy, but I was a pretty solid fat guy, and I could carry the weight for a long time, but eventually you can't outrun that," he told podcast cohost Tom Papa.
The comedian
said his weight often fluctuated, losing and gaining 30 pounds year after year.
During "Mike & Molly," which aired from 2010 to 2016, his weight rose to 375 pounds; during "Bob Hearts Abishola," which aired from 2021 to 2024, his weight dropped to 275. He quipped that his doctor told him that "after 50, the warranties start running out."
His children were a major motivator for him to lose weight and undergo the bariatric surgery procedure, saying, "I don't want to survive what I've survived, succeed what I've succeeded and then not be able to get out of a chair."
"For anybody out there struggling, if I can do it, you can do it and don't let nobody tell you differently. Do whatever it takes," he said.
Billy Gardell says he was on Ozempic for a year to treat diabetes
Gardell also discussed his 2021 ad campaign for Ozempic, when the drug was intended only to treat Type 2 diabetes. He said he lost around 12 pounds while on the medication but stopped after his deal.
"I was on Ozempic for a year, and I was their spokesman, but it was for Type 2 diabetes, and they didn't know it was a weight loss [drug] yet," he said. "For a very nice paycheck, I stopped doing that and just got the surgery because I wanted everything to change, but had I known it was a weight-loss drug, I probably would've [ridden] that out."
Gardell said the bariatric surgery came with "downsides," but he was satisfied with the decision.
"Overall, the gift of being able to go on vacation with the family, you know, and if we're on a boat and they're going to go snorkeling … I used to have to say, 'Well, tell me how it is,' if I went in the ocean the fish would swim the other way," he said.
Reflecting on that experience, Gardell said that the "stupid joys" are being able to sit in the middle seat on airplanes, shopping at the mall and tying his shoes with the bow staying in the middle. "I know they are simple stupid things, but they mean the world to me," he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Billy Gardell says weight loss surgery likely saved his life after diabetes diagnosis
